Will Dele Alli make Conte regret allowing him to leave for Everton
Alli left for Everton in the January window as his career stalled under Conte
Tottenham manager Antonio Conte is not worried about Dele Alli seeking revenge on his return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Monday night, with the Italian coach adding that players who leave him usually go ‘down, not up’.
Alli left for Everton in the January window as his career stalled under Conte. ‘It was a good decision for the player and for the club,’ the Spurs boss said of the 25-year-old England forward.
‘I can tell you that in the period we worked together I tried to get the best out of him. He was always available in training but in the end it was a good decision for him and he deserves big respect for what he did for this club. He’s young and has all the time to take his career in his own hands.’
When Tottenham host Everton this evening the surroundings will be familiar to Dele Alli , so too the predicament in which he finds himself. That he returns to Tottenham Hotspur searching for the spark that eluded him towards the end of his seven years there serves to highlight how his January move to Everton has been a slow-burner.
He has yet to start for Frank Lampard’s side and has been restricted to 117 minutes across four Premier League cameos, of which three have ended in defeat. His dress sense and the car he drives have provoked more debate in some quarters than his performances.
A plea from his manager to be patient was not part of the plan. “I think for Dele, first of all, it is [about] his condition,” Lampard said, of a player who has not completed 90 minutes since October. “[Then he is] learning a bit about myself and how my staff work and then fitting into the team. I don’t think we have to panic, to rush.
“When we signed Dele, I certainly saw it as a long-term plan because I really have that massive belief in him. It is a shame that two of the games I have been here for have been FA Cup games in which he cannot play [having already appeared in the competition for Spurs this season]. There is competition [in the squad] in that area and it is just about being a bit patient. And when he comes in, it is about delivering.”
Conte was the last Spurs head coach to lose patience with Dele and felt that it was best for all parties for him to make a fresh start. While Conte wished him well, he does not expect to regret his decision, based on previous transfer dealings.
“I don’t remember one player that when he went away he came back with a great spirit of revenge,” Conte said. “During my coaching I always try to be honest and give all the players the possibility to show me that they deserve to play. What happens usually is that when players went away they went down, not up.”
Dele, 25, joined on a free transfer but Everton will pay £10 million when he has played 20 times, and the deal could reach about £33 million in total. He started three of his six games under Conte, who made a quick decision about the player’s future after arriving at the club in November.
